This edited volume provides readers with a deeper knowledge of the growth of personality assessment in North America over the past 40 years through the autobiographies of its most notable figures.
Experts provide insights into their professional backgrounds, training experiences, their contributions and approaches to personality assessment, their perceptions of current trends, and their predictions about the future of the field. Each chapter explores topics of deep significance to the writer, fluidly intertwining theory and personal narrative.
Beginning clinicians, scholars, and students will gain a better understanding of the major empirical advances that were made during the last generation regarding key questions about the nature of people, the structure of personality traits, and the connections between personality and mental health.
Table of Contents:
1. Understanding People who Understand People 2. The Development of Therapeutic Assessment: From Shame and Isolation to Connection and Love 3. Personality: The Heart of the Matter 4. My Hobby: Listening for the MMPI’s Questions 5. My Journey to the Assessment Land 6. The Sands of Identity Keep Shifting: Late-Life Career Developments 7. Reports of my Being an Extravert Are Greatly Exaggerated 8. Thoughts from a Contrarian Generalist: A Roundabout Journey to Where I am Now 9. An Overdetermined Life in Psychoanalysis 10. Influences and Inspirations 11. It Takes a Village to Raise an MMPI Author 12. A Long Life: Twists and Turns 13. Thomas A. Widiger: Personality Assessment 14. Evolving Convictions through Dogged Pursuit of Answers and Large Dollops of Luck: My Piece in the World of Personality and Psychopathology Assessment 15. My Journey to Become a Clinical Psychologist 16. From Stable Traits to Spinning Vectors: A Measurement Driven Journey 17. A Brief History of "Me" 18. The Numbers and the Story 19. Circle Songs and Sands of Time
About the Author :
Dr. Christopher J. Hopwood is Professor of Personality Psychology at the University of Zurich. He is a fellow and former board member of the Society for Personality Assessment and Associate Editor of the Journal of Personality Assessment and the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Review :
"Hopwood has assembled a fascinating array of stories from personality assessment luminaries about their personal and professional shaping influences, their life- and career trajectories. In essence, these are gifts of generativity. This treasure chest of narratives will inspire future generations of personality assessors to find their visions and carve out their unique paths."
-Radhika Krishnamurthy, PsyD, ABAP; Clinical Psychology Professor, Florida Institute of Technology; Former President, Society for Personality Assessment
"People who understand people know that scientists are not inert ingredients in their research. Chris Hopwood has curated a master list of the most accomplished and influential living personality assessment scientists and practitioners to share their professional journeys, which have left an indelible mark on the field. The result is a brightly illuminating volume that will be a must read for those who want to understand how we come to understand people."
-Aidan Wright, PhD; Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh
